Generally, a camera system outputting a depth image using a stereo camera transmits two image data of depth image and color image to a host system. FIG. 1 is a configurative block diagram illustrating an image data transmitting apparatus according to prior art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional image data transmitting apparatus (100) is configured such that a right image of M×N and a left image of M×N are image-processed by an image processor (110) to output a depth image of M×N and a color image of M×N, where frame size and synchronization of the depth image and color image are corrected by an interface (120), which is simultaneously outputted to a host system (200) such as a television or a computer (PC).
In the conventional image data transmitting apparatus (100), when the interface unit (120) transmits an image to the host system (200), the image is transmitted to the host system (200) directly, or via IEED1394, CAMLINK, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) or USB (Universal Serial Bus). The CAMLINK or HDMI is limited in use due to high price, such that an USB type interface is generally used except for handheld devices. Currently, USB 2.0 type is used.
However, the USB-type interface unit (120) suffers from a disadvantage in that frame size is restricted due to bandwidth limitation (480 Mbps) in transmitting a depth image and a color image. Furthermore, the USB-type interface unit (120) suffers from a disadvantage in that the host system (200) tends to be complicated, because one endpoint is used for transmitting an image data (see FIG. 1), a non-standard encoder (not shown) is required for transmitting two image data through one transmission path, and the host system (200) requires a non-standard decoder (not shown) for decoding the coded image data.
Meanwhile, the host system (200) also suffers from disadvantages in that it must be mounted with separate non-standard driver software for recognizing devices and a separate non-standard API (Application Programming Interface) to go with the separate non-standard driver software.